A Second Book of Operas | Page 5

Interruption of the vigil, Story
of the opera, et seq.--The hiring of wives in Japan, Experiences of
Pierre Loti, Geishas and mousmes, A changed denouement, Messager's
opera, "Madame Chrysantheme," The end of Loti's romance, Japanese
melodies in the score, Puccini's method and Wagner's, "The
Star-Spangled Banner," A tune from "The Mikado," Some of the
themes of Puccini and William Furst,
CHAPTEE XIII
"DER ROSENKAVALIER"
The opera's predecessors, "Guntram," "Feuersnot," "Salome," Oscar
Wilde makes a mistaken appeal to France, His necrophilism welcomed
by Richard Strauss and Berlin, Conried's efforts to produce "Salome" at
the Metropolitan Opera Blouse suppressed, Hammerstein produces the
work, "Elektra," Hugo von HofEmannsthal and Beaumarchais, Strauss
and Mozart, Mozart's themes and Strauss's waltzes, Dancing in Vienna
at the time of Maria Theresa, First performance of the opera at New
York, "Der Rosenkavalier" and "Le Nozze di Figaro," Criticism of the
play and its music, et seq.--Use of a melodic phrase from "Die
Zauberflote," The language of the libretto, The music, Cast of the first
American performance, (footnote)
CHAPTER XIV
"KONIGSKINDER"
Story of the play, et seq.--First production of Hummerdinck's opera and
cast, Earlier performance of the work as a melodrama, Author and
composer, Opera and melodrama in Germany, Wagnerian symbolism
and music, "Die Meistersinger" recalled, Hero and Leander,

Humperdinck's music,
CHAPTER XV
"BORIS GODOUNOFF"
First performance of Moussorgsky's opera in New York, Participation
of the chorus in the tragedy, Imported French enthusiasm, Vocal
melody, textual accents and rhythms, Slavicism expressed in an Italian
translation, Moussorgsky and Debussy, Political reasons for French
enthusiasm, Rimsky-Korsakoff's revision of the score, Russian operas
in America, "Nero," "Pique Dame," "Eugene Onegin," Verstoffeky's
"Askold's Tomb," The nationalism of "Boris Godounoff," The Kolydda
song "Slava" and Beethoven, Lack of the feminine element in the
drama, The opera's lack of coherency, Cast of the first American
performance,
CHAPTER XVI
"MADAME SANS-GENE" AND OTHER OPERAS BY GIORDANO
First performance of "Madame Sans-Gene," A singing Napoleon,
Royalties in opera, Henry the Fowler, King Mark, Verdi's Pharaoh,
Herod, Boris Godounoff, Macbeth, Gustavus and some mythical kings
and dukes, et seq.--Mattheson's "Boris," Peter the Great, Sardou's play
and Giordano's opera, Verdi on an operatic Bonaparte, Sardou's
characters, "Andrea Chenier," French Rhythms, "Fedora," "Siberia,"
The historic Chenier, Russian local color, "Schone Minka," "Slava,"
"Ay ouchnem," French revolutionary airs, "La Marseillaise," "La
Carmagnole," "Ca ira,"
CHAPTER XVII
TWO OPERAS BY WOLF-FERRARI
The composer's operas first sung in their original tongue in America,
First performances of "Le Donne Curiose," "Il Segreto di Susanna," "I

Giojelli della Madonna," "L'Amore Medico," Story and music of "Le
Donne Curiose," Methods and apparatus of Mozart's day,
Wolf-Ferrari's Teutonism, Goldoni paraphrased, Nicolai and Verdi, The
German version of "Donne Curiose," Musical motivi in the opera,
Rameau's "La Poule," Cast of the first performance in New York,
(footnote)--Naples and opera, "I Giojelli della Madonna," et
seq.--Erlanger's "Aphrodite," Neapolitan folksongs, Wolf-Ferrari's
individuality, His "Vita Nuova," First performance in America of I
Giojelli,"
CHAPTER I
BIBLICAL OPERAS
Whether or not the English owe a grudge to their Lord Chamberlain for
depriving them of the pleasure of seeing operas based on Biblical
stories I do not know. If they do, the grudge cannot be a deep one, for it
is a long time since Biblical operas were in vogue, and in the case of
the very few survivals it has been easy to solve the difficulty and salve
the conscience of the public censor by the simple device of changing
the names of the characters and the scene of action if the works are to
be presented on the stage, or omitting scenery, costumes and action and
performing them as oratorios. In either case, whenever this has been
done, however, it has been the habit of critics to make merry at the
expense of my Lord Chamberlain and the puritanicalness of the popular
spirit of which he is supposed to be the official embodiment, and to
discourse lugubriously and mayhap profoundly on the perversion of
composers' purposes and the loss of things essential to the lyric drama.
It may be heretical to say so, but is it not possible that Lord
Chamberlain and Critic have both taken too serious a view of the
matter? There is a vast amount of admirable material in the Bible
(historical, legendary or mythical, as one happens to regard it), which
would not necessarily be degraded by dramatic treatment, and which
might be made entertaining as well as edifying, as it has been made in
the past, by stage representation. Reverence for this material is neither
inculcated nor preserved by shifting the scene and throwing a veil over

names too transparent to effect a disguise. Moreover, when this is done,
there is always danger that the process may involve a sacrifice of the
respect to which a work of art is entitled on its merits as such. Gounod,
in collaboration